The idea of homeschooling might be invigorating, overwhelming, and maybe frightening to some. We all know the reasons why we want to homeschool, but when it comes to actually putting together a plan to act, we can get stuck in the sea of overwhelming resources and ideas.
I must be honest with you. Every year, heck, every semester up until this point, our homeschooling has been different. I initially went in thinking I would homeschool the same way I ran my classroom when I taught in the public school system. That soon fell on its head as it was way too structured.
Practical Tip #1 Go with the flow of you and your kid's personality. If your kid's most awake hours are in the morning, get all your homeschooling done in the morning. Why drag something on if they are not receptive . 80% of productivity stems from 20% of your time.
Practical Tip #2 Keep it minimal. Don't pick 5 different curriculums for one subject. It's easy to go to conference or read a blog and want to incorporate the newest, shiniest thing into your schooling. Pick one thing and be consistent with it. Consistency is king.
Practical Tip #3 Structure a time into your day where your kids are independently learning. We all know that homeschooling can be taxing at times. For me one of the most important reasons why I homeschool is to raise up resourceful learners. For people with younger elementary kids that may mean silent reading, creating art, and building (without mom). Set a timer for as little as 15 minutes and have this be their independent time. As time goes on you can increase the minutes and add more challenging tasks. At the end of the time they can check in with you. This will form a sense of independent learning that will serve them years down the road.
Practical Tip #4 Plan a time each day minimum an hour where you are doing your own thing without kids? This is important if you want to be a successful homeschool educator. If you are not investing every day in yourself, how could you possibly have anything to give to invest in your kids. That may mean getting up early/ staying up late to read your favorite fiction series, exercise, get coffee with a friend, sew/knit whatever. I know we hear it all the time but without planning this into your schedule, this journey will not be sustainable.. I promise you.